Publication

If international development partners are to live up to their rhetoric and aspiration of supporting locally-led development, they must learn to see from the perspectives of their counterparts in the Global South. This report draws upon the experiences of nearly 7,000 leaders at the forefront of pushing forward reforms in 141 countries to answer three critical questions. How do leaders assess progress in advancing their national development goals? What key constraints do leaders see as hindering progress in achieving their goals? How can international actors best support locally-led development?

This report examines how Beijing’s funding priorities have changed in the era of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Using a dataset of over 13,000 Chinese state-financed development projects between 2000 and 2017, it compares financing for projects that are substantively BRI-like in their intent, regardless of when they occurred or whether they involved a BRI member country.

Bending the curve of biodiversity loss is a key priority for humanity and requires urgent action. The rapid loss of biological diversity threatens human lives, livelihoods and well-being globally, and is reinforcing and being reinforced by climate breakdown.

Protecting the heritage of communities is a means to revive them. The goal of the current paper is to explore how translation can be utilised as an effective tool for the preservation, survival, and dissemination of the oral heritage of marginalised communities within the Iraqi context.

This paper explores how youth engagement takes place across a range of policy areas relevant to youth employment, drawing on desk research, case study research in Ghana and data from interviews conducted with policy advisors based in various African countries and donor headquarters.

The December 2022 analysis found that, between July and the end of October 2022, crisis-affected populations in more than 80 countries were not receiving the humanitarian assistance they needed because of access constraints. Gambia, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka have entered the ranking since the last Humanitarian Access Overview from July 2022.

Interconnecting, compounding and protracted crises affect a growing number of countries. Globally, 1.5 billion people – one in five of the world’s population – live in fragile and conflict affected situations (FCAS), yet financing to key sectors is not keeping pace with need.

After several decades of digitalization in Africa, there is a real change in the ecosystem in Africa from traditional uses to current uses that integrate the use of OTT (Over The Top) applications. This new configuration of use of digital tools has highlighted the limits of traditional investments which have enabled the establishment of networks that have allowed Africa to move from general isolation to inclusion in the digital world.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of many economies in the Global South. To accelerate and support the digital transition of Global South SMEs, national governments and multilateral organisations should design a ‘digitalisation roadmap’.

During the pandemic, governments faced difficulties ensuring inclusivity in the delivery of digital public services. This is particularly apparent in the Global South, where the rapid digitalisation of public services has deepened structural inequalities and vulnerabilities. Given the the newfound importance of connectivity and digital literacy for accessing public services, the need to bridge the gender digital divide has become ever more pressing.

This policy brief presents the most pressing concerns that must be resolved if online education is to thrive in the face of potential future disruptions. It also stresses the value of not abandoning anyone along the way.

Since March 2022, Malawi has been experiencing the largest cholera outbreak reported in the last decade. As at 29 November, the cumulative confirmed cases and deaths were 10,652 and 310, respectively. The country needs medical supplies, vaccines, health worker training, and awareness campaigns on cholera to tackle the outbreak.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is taking a terrible toll. The Western response nonetheless remains the right one. NATO capitals should continue supporting Kyiv, while avoiding direct conflict with Moscow and keeping the door open to talks.

The assumption of many researchers is that Russia’s renewed interest in Africa is driven by its quest for global power status. Few expect Russia’s security engagement to bring peace and development to countries with which it has security partnerships. This article argues that Moscow has found success by providing security solutions to fragile states and weak regimes without political strings attached, thus making Russia a preferred security partner.

Women’s empowerment and gender equality are fundamental for effective, efficient and sustainable climate mitigation and adaptation. Despite being powerful stakeholders and change agents, women are often not included in climate policies that apply gender-neutral approaches, deepen inequality and hamper effective climate action.

The aim of this paper is to use a geopolitical perspective to better understand the phenomenon of instrumentalization of migration. Such a perspective is helpful to analyse the points of vulnerability of target countries, and to initiate a discussion about possible strategic responses to prevent, deter and combat its use.

For years, U.S. engagement in Africa has emphasized poverty reduction, foreign aid, and addressing conflict and insecurity. While critically important, these priorities have not fully kept pace with dramatic changes occurring across the region, as Africa today has emerged as one of the world’s premier destinations for cutting-edge innovation and inspiring entrepreneurship

The EU’s new global health strategy aims to ‘go back to basics’ and achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. This brief suggests ways to avoid global health falling off the agenda again: these include a stronger AU-EU partnership and targeted funding.

En América Latina y el Caribe el impacto de la crisis económica derivada de la pandemia fue particularmente agudo, con efectos para el sector de transporte que van más allá de los ámbitos productivos y laborales. Dos años después del inicio de la crisis sanitaria que provocó medidas de distanciamiento social sin precedentes históricos, la recuperación de la actividad sectorial es ampliamente desconocida.

This report reviews airport system development in Asian megacities and provides policy recommendations to support cities’ economic competitiveness, growth, and sustainability.